Protest rally Thursday evening in Masset

Masset residents will be holding a rally Thursday evening for an oil-free coast. According to Masset resident John Disney, a growing number of citizens in the Greater Masset area have decided to hold a rally to show support for a larger protest in Prince Rupert that same evening. The Rupert rally for an oil-free coast is aimed at Enbridge, which is listed as a platinum sponsor for the North Central Local Government Association’s annual convention. The Rupert protest also includes the gathering of a flotilla of boats in front of Chances casino where conference delegates will convene for dinner. Mr. Disney pointed out that BC municipalities voted in favour of two Queen Charlotte-initiated anti-Enbridge resolutions at the Union of BC Municipalities conference last September. One was to lobby for a moratorium on bulk crude oil tanker traffic and the other to oppose tar sands oil being shipped in pipelines across Northern BC. He says it’s important to protest that municipalities are taking money from people who they have taken a stand against. “This is viewed as selling your soul to the devil,” he said in an email to the Observer. Mr. Disney says he can see no logical reason for the Enbridge pipeline to Kitimat, nor the increase in crude oil tanker traffic that such a pipeline would bring to the north coast. “There is no economic, employment, environmental, cultural or business reason for the pipeline to be built,” he said. The rally will be held in the parking lot beside the fire hall at 6:30 pm on Thursday.